BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2465
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2465 (Yamada) - As Amended: April 7, 2010
Policy Committee: Business and
Professions Vote: 11-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires that any land acquired by a state agency as
of January 1, 2011, be managed by the state agency consistent
with the Department of Public Health's Best Management Practices
(BMP) for Mosquito Control on California State Properties.
Specifically, this bill requires an affected state agency to
manage any such land according to specific practices, including:
1)Identify and implement BMPs most appropriate for the land-use
type, resource availability, West Nile Virus and mosquito
populations.
2)Use integrated pest management, including biological,
mechanical, cultural, microbial, biochemical, and chemical
controls to actively control mosquitoes while considering
human health, ecological impact, feasibility, and cost
effectiveness.
3)Eliminate artificial mosquito breeding sites; ensure all
surface water is gone within 96 hours; control plant growth in
ponds, ditches, and shallow wetlands; design facilities and
water conveyance or holding structures to minimize the
potential for producing mosquitoes; and control mosquito
larvae.
4)Evaluate the effects and efficacy of treatments for mosquito
control.
5)Coordinate with local mosquito and vector control officials.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 2465
Page 2
1)Unknown annual costs ranging in the low hundreds of thousands
of dollars to the low millions, to state agencies, such as the
Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), Department of Fish
and Game (DFG), and the state's land conservancies, to train
staff, implement BMPs, and monitor effects and efficacy of
treatments.
2)Unknown indirect annual savings to local agencies, to the
extent they reduce their costs for mosquito control as a
result of the practices implemented by this bill.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends this bill ensures state
agencies will implement BMPs for mosquito control as
identified in Department of Public Health's report. As a
result, the author contends, the state will better control
pests that spread diseases such as the West Nile Virus, and
avoid costly and environmentally harmful chemical pesticides,
the use of which is unwelcome in many communities.
2)Background . In 2007, as a response to concern over the spread
of West Nile Virus, the governor directed the DPH to develop a
plan to improve early detection and control of the virus on
state-owned properties. In June 2008, DPH adopted a plan for
mosquito control on state properties. The plan included
numerous recommendations in the form of BMPs, such as the
elimination of standing water, modifying habitat, enhancing
natural predation on mosquito larvae, and using highly
specific mosquito control products.
Despite DPH's report, many state agencies have failed to
implement the BMPs. This failure results, in large part, from
a lack of funds. In any case, state agencies often miss the
opportunity to control mosquitoes before they breed or at the
larval stage. Local agencies then face the cost of
controlling mature mosquitoes that migrate from state-owned
lands. Unfortunately, these latter-stage responses require
application of chemical pesticides, which are usually more
costly than earlier-stage actions.
3)Support . This bill is supported by numerous mosquito and
vector control agencies throughout the state, who argue the
bill allows for better control of mosquitoes and the diseases
AB 2465
Page 3
they can spread, and potentially avoids the use of noxious and
costly chemical pesticides.
4)Opposition . The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance,
however, expresses concern that the bill might harm wetlands
and the wildlife species that depend on them.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081